


A Day on the Beach

by quags_14



Category: The Song of Achilles - Madeline Miller
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-19
Updated: 2015-08-19
Packaged: 2018-04-15 15:19:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 652
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4611675
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/quags_14/pseuds/quags_14





	A Day on the Beach

His muscles, his smile, his hair, Patroclus loved it all. Everything about Achilles was perfect. The way his eyes lit up when Patroclus awoke in the morning to the glimmer in his eyes that sparkled when the moon rose above the beaches. Even the way Achilles slept enchanted Patroclus.

“Patroclus.” _Pa-tro-clus_.

Patroclus blinked and shook his head. He didn’t even notice he was staring at Achilles. Sometimes he entered a trance-like state while enjoying every inch of beauty that Achilles possessed.

“Yes?” Patroclus calmly answered.

“You have some sand on your face.” Achilles reached up and brushed Patroclus’s cheek. He smiled.  

They had been sitting on the beach since the sun first rose and dawn reflected off of the water. Now, it was midday, and the sun was beginning to heat the sand around them.

Patroclus blushed. “Thank you.” He adored sitting next to Achilles; at meals, at meetings, and whenever they were relaxing. Soon, however, they would depart for Troy and moments like these would be rare. “Are you scared? Of the war, I mean.”

“No. Are you?”

“Yes.” Patroclus feared for them both. Eventually, their lives would come to an end. Whether it be in war, or atop a hill overlooking a valley of flowers. _It would be nice to die alongside something so beautiful. The flowers would be nice too._

“Don’t be, I will be right beside you the whole time.” Achilles looked out to the waves, which were crashing on the shore ever so peacefully. The sunlight danced in his golden locks.

Patroclus closed his eyes and sighed. _We have been blessed with such a lovely life. Most men and women pray to the gods night and day to have what we have._ Patroclus laid his head on Achilles’s shoulder. His skin was so smooth. The scent of oils mingled with the breeze. Patroclus stroked his Achilles’s arm. Here and there his skin was discolored by greenish blue bruises. They were different from the bruises that were just beginning to fade on his neck.

As he lay there, Patroclus felt two fingers land under his chin and push his head up. He gazed into the green eyes that were studying his face. Specks of yellow leapt like butterflies on a pond’s surface. Only then did Patroclus realize he was inching toward Achilles’s face.

He quickly pulled his head back and turned away. “We can’t. Your mother can be watching.”

Achilles scoffed. “Good, let her watch. Let her learn how to treat someone you love.” Achilles reached around Patroclus and pulled him closer. Patroclus placed his head on Achilles’s lap.

“You’re very convincing. Maybe you’ll be able to convince your mother to accept me into her life as her son’s lover.”

“Lover? You’re more than my lover. You’re my heartbeat. You’re the blood that runs in my veins. You’re my every thought that floats in my head. To call you my lover would be an understatement. You’re my everything.” Achilles admired the boy lying on his lap. He smiled and his face turned a shade of vermillion. “Patroclus. You’re my sky, my earth, my sun. I live off of you, off of your laugh and smile. You and only you can complete me.”

Patroclus sat up and pressed his lips against the other boy’s. A million stars danced in the darkness behind Patroclus’s eyelids. He felt Achilles’s hand reach behind his head and latch onto his hair. All of the images of war and death disappeared. _This is where I belong,_ Patroclus thought. _I belong with him, for all eternity, even after our internal fires go out._

Achilles smiled and their lips parted. “The gods are going to turn us into starlight one day. We will forever exist in the skies at nighttime. Right next to each other, among the stars, with our hands interlocked.”

The two boys held hands, their eyes investigating every inch of the opposite’s body.


End file.
